


Soldier

by gaygaygaygaygay0 (orphan_account)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, angela is mentioned like twice, anyways i havent written a fic since AoT (LMAO) so please be nice to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 07:31:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7425754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/gaygaygaygaygay0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>De-Anon. Prompt: "AU where their personal relationship doesn't degrade and they're happy together, but their professional lives are still in big trouble. they both have to lie on the floor of the switzerland headquarters, each watching the man he loves dying and helpless to prevent it</p><p>Angst it up"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soldier

**Author's Note:**

> Ended up being a lot more 76 centric than I meant it to oops. Includes Blind 76! I haven't written a fic in over a year, if not two years so I apologize for the shaky quality.

One of the first things 76 learned was History was not written by the winners, it was simply written by those who lived. It was barely six months after the explosion when the memorial went up, and the public all but forgot it's previous contempt for the organization. 76 took a trip to the museum despite himself, and regretted his decision the second he walked through door. Yet he found himself wandering through the exhibit, the respiratory mask that concealed his identity shaking with each uneven breath he took.

Eventually he stopped in front of a hologram screen and attempted to read the text. 76 wasn't completely blind, but the dark plastic covering his eyes made focusing on anything small almost impossible. He leaned forward in an attempt to at least catch a couple words of the text. His mask was less than an inch away from the screen when he heard a slightly accented voice behind him,

"Sir, would you like me to pull up the braille version of this article for you?"

76 backed up and tilted his body towards the museum employee, shaking his head, "Can't read braille"

His voice came out in a deep, breathless manner and 76 resisted the urge to rub his throat. He hadn't properly spoken since right after the explosion when a Nurse at the hospital chatted with him after explaining how to take care of his new mask. 76 had liked her, she was the only one who didn't try and force him to remove the bandages covering his face. He had left a wad of cash on his bed the night he slipped out of the hospital; he hopes she had been smart enough to pocket it all for herself.

"Would you like me to read it to you?" the employee offered, obviously feeling bad for 76 and his haggard appearance. 76 nodded and turned his body back towards the display. Normally this sort of pity would have put him off, but even through his blurry vision 76 could see a picture of Gabriel's face next to the too-small text. He wanted to hear this.

"Gabriel Reyes, born 2XXX was Commander Morrison's best friend throughout their entire lives, he wa....."

76 couldn't hear the rest of the sentence over the blood rushing through his ears.  
_Best Friends_  
If Gabriel had been here, he probably would have attempted to put a fist through the hologram before demanding to meet up with the Museums director to give them a piece of his mind.  
But Gabriel wasn't here. Gabriel was dead.

Instead, 76 stood in disbelief ignoring the familiar sting of tears burning his eyes. Neither of them had been public with their relationship, Gabriel being too private- almost to a fault- but it hadn't exactly been a secret either.  
76 wonders how long until this become the "truth" in the eyes of History. How long until perky museum employees tell the public that Gabriel Reyes was his _best friend_ and not the best thing that had happened to Jack Morrison in his entire life. Only his best friend, not his lover, fiance, man he devoted over 20 goddamn years of his life to, just his best friend.

When he stopped hearing the sound of the employee's voice, he muttered a "Thank You" and left to return to the dingy motel he was staying at.  
He fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow, and as always his dreams punished him in the cruelest ways. He dreamed of holding Gabriel again. Of hearing his voice whisper sweet nothings into his ears while his fingers trailed along Jack's side. 76 felt warm for the first time in months, and in the haze of waking up he could have sworn Gabriel was in the bed with him.  
But when he woke up fully the cold reality hit him; Gabriel wasn't there. Gabriel was dead.

\---

All things considered, 76 was surprised how well he could remember the day of the explosion. But what he remembers the clearest is the night before- the two had snuck off to go out to dinner.

Their destination was a small family-owned restaurant, about a 45 minute drive from the base. The ride was silent, Jack was appreciating the scenery while Gabriel drove. Eventually Jack got bored with watching the trees pass by, and turned to watch his lover. Gabe's face was relaxed in a soft smile, Jack followed the curves of his lips before looking up to meet Gabe's eyes.

"You should take a picture, it will last longer."

A chuckle and "you should watch the road." was his only response.

When they arrived and found a parking spot, Jack leaned over to kiss Gabe and run his fingers through Gabe's dark hair. It was thick and curly and so _so_ soft. Jack loved it when Gabe's hair got this long and the older man had been putting off shaving it just for Jack's delight.

Jack opened his mouth to speak right as Gabe grabbed his hand and gently pressed a kiss onto his palm, "We're getting too old for sneaking off like this." There was no humor in his voice. Gabe hummed in agreement, his lips still on Jack's hand and his brown eyes focusing in on Jack's blues, "We're getting to old for this job, _Gabrielito_ , I-“ Jack looked nervous for a moment and had half a mind to stop this train of thought. He sucked in a breath before continuing on, “ I can't stand living in fear of you getting a knife in your back while I'm sitting doing _nothing_ in another conference room. I can't stand waking up alone while you're a thousand miles away on a mission with people you can't even _trust_!"

The sudden outburst didn't seem to surprise Gabe. He softly nodded his head while Jack's hand was still pressed up to his face. 76 can remember the way his beard had tickled his hand, and Jack had to suppress the urge to laugh. Gabe leaned forward; both intensifying his gaze and inviting Jack to speak more.

It was a short moment before Jack dropped his eyes and stared at his knees. A couple more seconds passed before Jack shakily confessed, "I'm supposed to be the commander, but I feel so afraid Gabo. It feels like we're in the eye of a storm and any second now it will pass over us and destroy everything."

Gabe kissed Jack's palm once more before dropping it to his lap and holding it in his. They laced their fingers together and sat in a pensive silence. Once Gabe fully gathered his thoughts, he spoke, "Jack if we don't do this, who will?"

\--

76 sat up and rested his head against his hands. He spent too long reminiscing in bed and now he only had an hour to prepare. Cool air from the compressed mask hit his face as he undid the seal on the side. He slid the mask off his face, and wished he had taken it off before he went to sleep. He smacked his lips at the taste of the unfiltered air; but at least his lungs no longer burned when he breathed without the mask. He hadn't needed the mask for at least 3 months but it was less suspicious to be walking around wearing a respiratory mask than a bandana and sunglasses.

76 went over a list what he needed to do in his head; first was to stretch and get dressed. He spent at least 20 minutes stretching, longer than he'd like but due to his age he couldn't risk going in with cold muscles. Next he had to clean out his gun and count what remained of his ammo. He had also planned on going over the blueprints again but he didn’t want to waste any more time. Besides, his memory of this facility was still particularly fresh. The anxiety he had felt when first walking the halls was something 76 could recall easily. He spent a lot of time thinking how to tell Gabe about his failing eye-sight, and Angela's plan to fix it.

_"You see, we can connect the Visor to the chip an-"_

_"The chip in my brain."_

_"Yes. I know you are... nervous... but there is no way around the chip Commander. It has to be connected to your Visual Cortex for the visor to work."_

Jack wasn't too keen on keeping brain surgery secret from Gabe, but telling him that he could barely see 3 feet in front of his face and it was only getting worse seemed harder at the time. By the time Gabe returned from his mission the small patch of hair that had been shaved off on the back of Jack's head had grown back and Gabe was none the wiser.

76 closed his eyes and imagined the corridors. He could practically feel the cold sterile air causing goosebumps across his body and hear the click of Angela's heels in front of him. He can remember her good-natured laugh when he told her he wanted the mask to be blue- his favorite color- and the visor to be red- Gabe's favorite. He can remember her voice on the phone, 20 minutes before he died telling him it was ready for him to try on.

\---

The next thing after Angela's call he remembers is Gabe yelling. They had gotten into a fight, one 76 couldn't remember even if he had tried with all his might.  
He was about to push Gabe against a wall- to punch or kiss him he's not sure- when Gabe's eyes had widened just slightly.  
He couldn't even get a question out of his mouth when the explosion happened. The world spun, his ears rang, and he vaguely registered he was on the ground about 10 feet back from where he originally stood. Gabe was also on the ground, looking worse for wear but alive. He could hear the distinct sounds of bullets firing in the background, but he ignored them in favor of the man in front of him. He was in the middle of being pulled to his feet by Gabe when the second explosion hit and his world turned black.  
He wakes up, he's not sure how much time had passed but he could still hear gunfire. Both him and Gabe were trapped under debris next to each other. Gabe was trapped on his back, a slab of concrete pushing painfully on his chest. His eyes were trained on Jack, and he immediately reached his hand out when Jack looked up at him.

"Jack, Jack. Te amo. Te amo. I love you."

His voice was so weak and coming out as a croak. Jack wanted to scream but no sound came out. He tried moving his body but he was so tired. Too tired.

Gabe moved his arm more, trying desperately to reach Jack, "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

Jack finally found his voice, "Gabe. It's going to be okay. We'll make it out. I love you, I promise it's going to be okay" He hoped Gabe could hear him. Both of them knew that promise was empty but Jack chose to ignore that.

Gabe gurgled and Jack could tell one of his lungs was probably punctured. Both of them were crying, but Gabe continued his weak mantra of "I love you" towards Jack. After some wiggling, Jack somehow managed to free his arm and stretched it towards Gabe, grabbing his hand. Another explosion rang through the building and Jack passed out again.

When he awoke he wanted nothing more than to fall back into the blissful darkness of slumber. Everything hurt, but at least hand was still in Gabe's. He looked up and nearly vomited. Gabe's corpse was staring back at him, tear tracks still visible down his now pale face.

In that moment 76 was born. He's not sure what he spent the first couple hours of his life doing, all he remembers is somehow finding his way to a hospital with over ten grand of stolen money rolled up into his pocket. Money that would soon find itself thrown on his bed as 76 slipped off into the night.

It has been nearly a year, 76's progress halted by nursing Jack Morrison's wounds. But tonight he would make finally start his one-man war. He will break into an all but abandoned watchpoint and get his visor and riffle back. He will become a Soldier again and fight for Gabriel.  
Gabriel may be dead, but that's alright, because at least Jack Morrison died with him.

**Author's Note:**

> I have too many headcanons I apologize. Please tell me if you see any mistakes/misspellings.  
> Also my overwatch fanblog is R-76.tumblr.com if u wanna follow me there!!!!!  
> *edit* I changed some things up about this and now I think the ending reads a little better :)


End file.
